A letter was recently sent to Wesley Disward. The letter was written by Lenny Lents, an author who supposedly died six months ago. Hugh and Dalian investigate the case, since a Phantom Book is apparently imprisoning the man and his lover.[1]

Contents

It was almost evening of a snowy day. An exhausted young man is suffering in his cold study, illuminated by the setting sun. He had finished his work. He gathers the papers and walks towards the heavy, locked door. When he knocks the door, the man hears someone approaching. A young woman opens the door. She’s holding an old book. The man has fulfilled his promise, and now he was asking for help. The woman counts the number of sheets and affirms it’s not enough. The man gets desperate. The woman gets a large knife and swings sideways at his neck. While blood spurts from his artery, she repeatedly pierces the man’s abdomen with the knife. With a smile on her face, she overlooks the body of the man as it stops moving.

At the terrace of the Disward estate, Hugh is reading a letter. When he goes to the living room, he watches Dalian reading the last page of a book. She suddenly gets furious, throwing a hissy fit and hitting Hugh. She’s frustrated because he ordered only the first two books of a trilogy. Hugh explains the third novel was never released, since the author Lenny Lents passed away. The author was attacked on the street half a year ago and now the Crown of the Dog Days story was unfinished, although rumors say that a manuscript exist. Dalian is frustrated, wishing to read about the love between the two male characters. Hugh reveals he had ordered the books because of a letter recently sent by Lenny, who is supposed to be dead. The writer was an old acquaintance of Wesley and was looking for his help. Dalian checks the letter and prepares to leave immediately when she reads a mention to a Phantom Book. The author wrote that he and someone else were imprisoned by a bizarre book. Besides that, see the ending of the trilogy is another motivation Dalian has to investigate the case.

Hugh is driving to the place where the letter was posted, in a lifelessly town. Lenny was living in this villa while writing the manuscript. Dalian’s face is stiff due to the cold air. She complains how Hugh’s car has no roof. They meet a beautiful woman as soon as they arrive at the mansion. She seems to be washing tools in a tub. The woman is wary when Hugh greets her. Dalian hides behind Hugh as if she was a fearful animal. Hugh introduces himself and affirms he wants to see Lenny Lents on behalf of his late grandfather. He’s relieved to know the author is alive, since his silhouette could be seen from inside his study. According to the cold woman, Lenny wouldn’t see anyone while working, not even publishers and agents. That’s why he was rumored to be dead. When Dalian asks if he was finishing his trilogy, the woman opens up. She is happy to see someone also interested in the story. Smiling, she says they should return the next day to see author. She introduces herself as Paula Lents, Lenny’s wife.

Soon, they would be back to Lenny’s house, so Hugh wanted to stay in the vicinity. The holiday cottages around seemed uninhabited. After all, it was off-season. To Dalian’s shock, Hugh affirms they might find canned food somewhere. They would break into a villa and leave the payment for the repair of the broken door and the accommodation. Hugh and Dalian discuss about Paula. The Crown of the Dog Days is a story dedicated to Lenny’s wife, who passed away five years ago. Hugh wonders about Paula’s real identity.

It was past midnight when Hugh and Dalian start to head to Lenny’s mansion. They were walking, since the exhaust sound from Hugh’s car was bound to be heard. Dalian was tagging along because she couldn’t sleep. She was hoping to find food at their destination. While hiding, they see Paula getting out of a stone barn and walking back to the mansion. They notice a glitteringly metallic tool against the wall of the barn. The fireplace poker is wet with blood. Checking the door, Hugh says it can be locked from the outside, as if it was trying to keep someone imprisoned inside. Once a building to store feed, now the place was a torture room reeking of blood, a scenery reminiscent of the witch hunt age. They find the body of Lenny Lents, his head crushed and his body showing signs indicating that he was beaten to death. Dalian also notices a frightened, young woman inside a small cage. She weakly introduces herself as Leticia Serkis, Lenny’s lover. She asks them to return the next day and take Lenny away. She also mentions a book carried by Paula. Leticia doesn’t mind staying behind.

Hugh went to the post office of a neighboring town to communicate with the shopkeeper of an old bookstore. Meanwhile, Dalian was in the passenger seat of his car, covered with a blanket and trying preserved biscuits. The lack of good food was putting her in a bad mood. Hugh returns and starts heating the engine of his car. He’s preparing to go back to Lenny’s residence to further investigate the case and reveal Paula’s true self. If she really is a killer, Hugh couldn’t let her free. On the other hand, Dalian seemed more interested in reading the ending of the Crown of the Dog Days.

In the afternoon, they have tea with Paula. The interior of the uncared building is dusty, with no servants in sight. Hugh doesn’t try the tea, afraid of drugs mixed in it and worried about the hygiene of the place. Dalian looks at the cake on the table with a miserable face. Paula was smiling, although her eyes didn’t reflect her mood. She looks unstable, talking by herself about Lenny’s works and how she contributed to nurture his talents. Dalian is impatient, wishing to see the author. She corrects Paula when she incorrectly quotes his novels. Paula’s face is distorted as she’s crushed by Dalian’s attitude. Hugh covers the latter’s mouth and says Paula was only testing them. As a reward, Paula would let them see Lenny. Upstairs, the sound of a typewriter gets loud. Paula removes a big padlock and opens the door to Lenny’s study. Hugh and Dalian have seen the same face last night, although the man is alive now. Hugh mentions the rumors about his death and the letter sent to Wesley Disward. Lenny affirms the letter was sent a long time ago. He was trying to trick Paula, who was watching the whole conversation. Lenny uses the typewriter to ask for help instead of continuing the third part of the Crown of the Dog Days. Hugh and Dalian should return after sunset to save Leticia, a prisoner inside the barn. Because of Paula, they should leave him behind. In exchange, Lenny would deposit the final manuscript of his novel in a safe deposit box. Hugh asks for an autograph so the writer can dispose of the evidence. Before signing, Lenny takes the paper out of the typewriter and hides it inside the book presented by Hugh.

Hugh and Dalian carefully refuse Paula’s invitation for dinner. Back to his car, Hugh checks Lenny’s handwriting. The man that just gave his signature is the same that wrote the novels and sent the letter to Wesley. Dalian is excited to see the continuation of the Crown of the Dog Days. Referring to Leticia, Dalian says she wants to save the seminude woman. Her clothes were indeed torn apart as if it was ripped by a knife. They leave the car after sunset and walk towards the back of the mansion again. Outside the barn, the bloodied fireplace poker had disappeared. The smell is of raw blood. The corpse they saw last night was replaced by the bruised body of Leticia. She was killed by multiples knife stabs and her blood was flowing, wetting the entire floor. Hugh covers Dalian’s mouth when Paula appears with Lenny. His left leg is cuffed, as if he was a prisoner working in a mine. Paula would keep him inside the barn. She’s holding an old book against her chest. Lenny is shot twice by Paula, who is carrying a hunting weapon. She had discovered the message delivered to Hugh and Dalian after examining the carbon paper inside the typewriter. With three bullets left, she turns the muzzle towards Lenny’s chest. At that moment, Hugh reveals himself and yells Paula’s true name.

He had investigated Paula Dickinson, an obsessive fan known among the publishing industry. She was suspected as the person who attacked Lenny six months ago. Hugh points his revolver to her. Paula affirms they are married and that they love each other. She even allowed his affair with Leticia. She shoots Lenny through his heart, killing him instantly. Dalian explains the barn is an altar for the ceremony of resurrection. She points to strange letters and patterns on the floor that shine as if responding to Lenny’s death. The Phantom Book on Paula’s hands also reacts. Blood is sucked back into Leticia’s body. She’s revived as her wounds are closed. The Ophiuchus Manuscript brings people back from the dead using other life as compensation. Lenny and Leticia were in a cycle of life and death, acting as sacrifice to each other, sharing the same soul. It’s impossible for them to reunite in life. The sight of Lenny’s body makes Leticia let out a sorrowful scream. She asks why Hugh didn’t take him away. She’s shot dead by Paula. The floor shines again, resurrecting Lenny. Papers are seen scattered on the floor. Paula was doing that to obtain a satisfying ending for the Crown of the Dog Days trilogy.

She couldn’t accept the story created by the author. She believed it was her obligation as a wife to correct Lenny. The maniac woman strikes him with the hunting weapon. Hugh was unable to shoot her. She picks the fireplace poker on the wall and stabs the body of Leticia, breaking her bones. Lenny grabs Paula’s legs to stop her from destroying the body of his lover. Paula hits his neck, letting out a macabre laugh. The light coming off the floor indicates Lenny’s death. Hugh was planning to take The Ophiuchus Manuscript from Paula and use her soul as sacrifice to revive the couple. He tries to reach her, but Paula notices him. She heard rumors about the Black Biblioprincess and her key-keeper. That Phantom Book was previously sealed because it provides a curse, an incomplete resurrection. The body of the person revived would rot after one day. According to Paula, she loves her husband so much she was able to kill him every day.

She starts to hit Leticia. Paula gets furious when Dalian criticizes the way she wished the story to end. When Lenny revives again, Paula tries to strike him with the tool. He manages to stop it halfway. She picks her hunting weapon and shoots his head. The floor is illuminated. The corpse of Leticia supports Lenny. Dalian explains why both were standing at the same time. Lenny and Leticia have evolved after six months of countless resurrections. It was equivalent to the changes a species undergoes throughout hundreds of generations. Now, their cells contained the magical power from the Phantom Book, giving them the ability to resist death. While Paula reloads her gun, a new being sharing the same soul is born from the bodies of Leticia and Lenny. It’s unaffected by the shot. Slowly swing its arm, the monster knocks Paula down before she can say anything. She dies with her broken ribs perforating her lungs. Dalian gives Hugh the right to open the Library. He holds the golden key on his right hand but stops. He realizes the couple only needs a peaceful passage. Hugh prays for Lenny and Leticia while the giant made of light disappears leaving no trace behind.

News about a dead body found at Lenny Lent’s residence took the world by surprise. People were speculating about the truth behind the woman’s death. Lenny and his lover were deemed as missing. The Crown of the Dog Days worked as a Phantom Book to Paula more than The Ophiuchus Manuscript. It made her crazy, obsessed with the relationship between the characters. Back to the mansion ten days after the events, Hugh throws out the newspaper he finished reading. Dalian is angry, throwing cushions towards his face. She just read the manuscript of the last volume of the Crown of the Dog Days. It was found inside Lenny’s safe and should be delivered to his publishing agent. She doesn’t like how the trilogy ended. Because of that, she would make Hugh use his grandfather’s typewriter to create a new continuation for the released volumes. Dalian also ordered books made by fans so he could use as inspiration. Hugh seems unable to fight back.[1]

Misery has a similar story. It's a 1987 psychological horror thriller novel by American author Stephen King where Paul Sheldon is forced to modify his book by a maniac fan.[2]Paula Dickinson does the same with Lenny Lents.[1]